MMS 2011 Call for Sessions – info for myITforum community members and non-community members

Planning for the MMS 2011 event in Las Vegas next March is well underway and we are now seeking session proposals from Industry speakers, covering topics of interest to other members of the IT Management community. In the past these sessions have helped to bring the “Real World” to the Microsoft Management Summit, which is always much appreciated by the event attendees.

As in previous years we are offering a Speaker Package to all Industry Speakers who are selected to present at the event, which provides:

Free speaker registration for the event

4 nights’ hotel accommodation during the event

Access to the on-site speaker lounge at the event

An opportunity to take Speaker Training on-site with top professional speaker coach Richard Klees

Content Goals

We are seeking session topics from Industry speakers which cover:

Real-world experience in the Windows management space

Best practices developed through actual deployments

Tips and tricks developed from real life experience

This year the Microsoft speakers will largely focus on the many new releases, betas and feature updates, as well as new topics in Cloud Management, Security and Virtualization. We would like to complement these sessions with best practices and real world experiences with existing and new products and technologies.

Audience

The audience at MMS works primarily in the Windows IT Management space, though an increasing number of attendees are responsible for management of heterogeneous environments. Consequently topics covering management of Windows as well as mixed-OS environments will be considered for the 2011 event.

The attendees generally have a strong background in Microsoft products, including System Center products and Microsoft SQL Server. Many have strong Systems Management skills and over 30% have experience managing Active Directory and Exchange infrastructures. Many organizations attending the event are actively using or planning to use Virtualization and are seeking advice on how best to manage such environments.

Session Format & Content

All Session slots will be 75 minutes, and should be pitched at a 300-400 (technical to deep technical) level for this audience. Live demonstrations are strongly encouraged.

Sessions should focus on best practices, procedures, processes and experiences from real-world deployments.

Unfortunately we can only accept session proposals from management customers and independent industry consultants – not from employees representing ISVs and IHVs in the IT Management industry. Such partners should consider purchasing a Sponsorship package at MMS 2011 as a means of obtaining a breakout session slot.

Session Proposal Process

This year we are again using a web interface to accept Breakout Session topic proposals. The system allows you to first create your own speaker profile and then to submit one or more session topics for consideration. The “Call for Sessions” entry page is located here

The first time you access this page, you will need to enter an access code. As a member of the IT Management Community please use the following access code, which will enable you to create your profile as a Community member:

· Community Member Access Code: MMS11TCS

You will then be prompted to create your speaker profile, including the email address and password you may use to return to the tool. Once you have submitted the profile, you can then enter a topic proposal. Scroll past the “Tips for Successful Submissions” to reach the “Session Information” description fields where your proposed session details should be entered.

When you return to the tool to submit further topics or to review your submissions, follow the CFT link above but log in using your email address and password, and not the access code.

The closing date for topic proposals from all speakers is midnight PST on November 24th 2010. The topic selection process will take place during December and all selected speakers will be notified by the start of January.

Attendee Content Survey

We are currently running an on-line MMS 2011 Content Survey asking potential attendees what content they would like to see at this year’s event. We will be using the results of this survey to help select the final sessions.

Please encourage anyone you know who is planning or considering attending MMS 2011 to complete the Content Survey, to provide us with as broad a view of the attendee content needs as possible.

Many thanks for your support. We look forward to working with you at MMS 2011.

Best wishes

The MMS 2011 Team

Non-Community Members

Non-community members should send an email to mmsqs@microsoft.com and a special code will be issued.